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Introduction

As far as we know, the Earth we live on is the only planet that is able to support life. Amongst other factors, the Earth is just the right distance from the sun to have temperatures that are suitable for life to exist. Also, the Earth's atmosphere has exactly the right type of gases in the right amounts for life to survive. Our planet also has water on its surface, which is something very unique. In fact, Earth is often called the 'Blue Planet' because most of it is covered in water. This water is made up of freshwater in rivers and lakes, the saltwater of the oceans and estuaries, groundwater and water vapour . Together, all these water bodies are called the hydrosphere .

Interesting fact

The total mass of the hydrosphere is approximately 1,4 × 10 18 tonnes ! (The volume of one tonne of water is approximately 1 cubic metre.)

Interactions of the hydrosphere

It is important to realise that the hydrosphere is not an isolated system, but rather interacts with other global systems, including the atmosphere , lithosphere and biosphere . These interactions are sometimes known collectively as the water cycle.

  • Atmosphere When water is heated (e.g. by energy from the sun), it evaporates and forms water vapour. When water vapour cools again, it condenses to form liquid water which eventually returns to the surface by precipitation e.g. rain or snow. This cycle of water moving through the atmosphere and the energy changes that accompany it, is what drives weather patterns on earth.
  • Lithosphere In the lithosphere (the ocean and continental crust at the Earth's surface), water is an important weathering agent, which means that it helps to break rock down into rock fragments and then soil. These fragments may then be transported by water to another place, where they are deposited. These two processes (weathering and the transporting of fragments) are collectively called erosion . Erosion helps to shape the earth's surface. For example, you can see this in rivers. In the upper streams, rocks are eroded and sediments are transported down the river and deposited on the wide flood plains lower down. On a bigger scale, river valleys in mountains have been carved out by the action of water, and cliffs and caves on rocky beach coastlines are also the result of weathering and erosion by water. The processes of weathering and erosion also increase the content of dissolved minerals in the water. These dissolved minerals are important for the plants and animals that live in the water.
  • Biosphere In the biosphere, land plants absorb water through their roots and then transport this through their vascular (transport) system to stems and leaves. This water is needed in photosynthesis , the food production process in plants. Transpiration (evaporation of water from the leaf surface) then returns water back to the atmosphere.

Exploring the hydrosphere

The large amount of water on our planet is something quite unique. In fact, about 71% of the earth is covered by water. Of this, almost 97% is found in the oceans as saltwater, about 2.2% occurs as a solid in ice sheets, while the remaining amount (less than 1%) is available as freshwater. So from a human perspective, despite the vast amount of water on the planet, only a very small amount is actually available for human consumption (e.g. drinking water). In Reactions in aqueous solutions we looked at some of the reactions that occur in aqueous solution and saw some of the chemistry of water, in this section we are going to spend some time exploring a part of the hydrosphere in order to start appreciating what a complex and beautiful part of the world it is. After completing the following investigation, you should start to see just how important it is to know about the chemistry of water.

Questions & Answers

the diagram of the digestive system
Assiatu Reply
allimentary cannel
Ogenrwot
How does twins formed
William Reply
They formed in two ways first when one sperm and one egg are splited by mitosis or two sperm and two eggs join together
Oluwatobi
what is genetics
Josephine Reply
Genetics is the study of heredity
Misack
how does twins formed?
Misack
What is manual
Hassan Reply
discuss biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles
Joseph Reply
what is biology
Yousuf Reply
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environments
AI-Robot
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environment.
Wine
discuss the biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles in an essay form
Joseph Reply
what is the blood cells
Shaker Reply
list any five characteristics of the blood cells
Shaker
lack electricity and its more savely than electronic microscope because its naturally by using of light
Abdullahi Reply
advantage of electronic microscope is easily and clearly while disadvantage is dangerous because its electronic. advantage of light microscope is savely and naturally by sun while disadvantage is not easily,means its not sharp and not clear
Abdullahi
cell theory state that every organisms composed of one or more cell,cell is the basic unit of life
Abdullahi
is like gone fail us
DENG
cells is the basic structure and functions of all living things
Ramadan
What is classification
ISCONT Reply
is organisms that are similar into groups called tara
Yamosa
in what situation (s) would be the use of a scanning electron microscope be ideal and why?
Kenna Reply
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is ideal for situations requiring high-resolution imaging of surfaces. It is commonly used in materials science, biology, and geology to examine the topography and composition of samples at a nanoscale level. SEM is particularly useful for studying fine details,
Hilary
cell is the building block of life.
Condoleezza Reply
what is cell divisoin?
Aron Reply
Diversity of living thing
ISCONT
what is cell division
Aron Reply
Cell division is the process by which a single cell divides into two or more daughter cells. It is a fundamental process in all living organisms and is essential for growth, development, and reproduction. Cell division can occur through either mitosis or meiosis.
AI-Robot
What is life?
Allison Reply
life is defined as any system capable of performing functions such as eating, metabolizing,excreting,breathing,moving,Growing,reproducing,and responding to external stimuli.
Mohamed
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Source:  OpenStax, Chemistry grade 10 [caps]. OpenStax CNX. Jun 13, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11303/1.4
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